1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of computer network communications, and specifically to the use of performance enhancing proxies for TCP latency optimization.
2. Related Art
One of the underlying protocols used for computer network traffic, and in particular Internet traffic, is the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). Integral to TCP is a certain amount of latency, while the connection between one endpoint and another is first negotiated, and then the transmission speed between those two points ramps up. In the earlier days of networking and the Internet, and even over many modern networks, the time lost during this “slow-start” TCP negotiation is relatively inconsequential.
The slow-start approach to flow control was adopted for TCP for a reason. Simply, the slow-start represents a sort of “gentleman's agreement,” whereby no single connection seizes a disproportionate amount of available bandwidth. Essentially, when transmitting data, an endpoint transmits a small amount of data, e.g. one packet, and checks for conflicts. If no conflict exists, the endpoint can send out a slightly greater amount of data, e.g. two packets, and check for conflicts. This process can continue to increase, or “ramp up,” until it starts interfering with other transmissions. Once that occurs, the transmitting endpoint eases back on the transmission speed, so as to avoid interfering with other transmissions.
However, with modern high speed networks, particularly, for example, the dedicated connections that often exist between a corporate office and a branch office, much higher bandwidths tend to be available. As such, this inherent TCP latency results in proportionately more time lost than previously.
Several older approaches attempt to address this latency issue. Simply reducing the amount of data to be transmitted, e.g., by using very simple web pages, helps to alleviate this issue somewhat, as less total time is necessary to complete the transmission. This does not, however, actually solve the problem.